Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving on the mountain!  Last year Keith smoked the turkey from the warmth and dryness of his easy chair due to rain, snow and cold temperatures.  This year he was able to cook on the deck in short sleeves.  

The weather was warm and sunny.  We started our week with guests from West Tennessee.  Keith's middle brother, Glenn brought his Mom up to visit.  We were certainly glad to see them.  The kids joined us on Wednesday night and we had our Thanksgiving feast on Thursday.  I cooked a ton and Mrs Goulder brought some things so we had entirely too much food!  It was hard for me to taste much of anything, due to a sinus infection, so maybe I didn't blow the diet too bad.  After lunch we took a family photo on the deck.

Our guests left on Friday.  On Friday night, we continued a tradition that we started last year - Christmas shows. Last year we went to Dixie Stampede and this year we went to Smoky Mountain Opry Christmas Show. Don't let the title fool you - this show was not just country music.  It was a review of all kinds of music.  There were singers, 

dancers, 

acrobats, 

skaters, 

comedians....  

Well you get the idea.  This show had everything including live animals. 

 Part of the time it was so cheesy I wanted to laugh, ( like when the angel flew through the sky)

 but at other times the talent was evident. The band was awesome! 

And Slim Chance was hilarious!

I learned that when Christmas is over Santa packs up the RV and goes South to fish because it's "all about that bass, 'bout that bass, (not blue gill)"!

All in all it was a pretty good show with all kinds of things crammed into 2 hours.  Afterwards we enjoyed the lights outside.

So Christmas Show #2 was a lot of fun.  I think we'll continue the tradition.

On Saturday, Keith and Jeff headed to Knoxville to watch the Vols take care of Vanderbilt.  Jenny, Bobby, and I headed to see the Titantic Exhibit.  We spent 2 hours looking at the displays and listening to the narration.  We learned a lot about this tragic historic event.  We touched an iceberg and dipped our hands into that 24 degree water that took so many lives.  It was sad, but interesting.

We spent the rest of the evening resting and watching television.

Jenny and Bobby headed home on Sunday morning.  Keith and Jeff hit the trail. (You didn't think we'd get through an entire weekend without a hike, did you?) I stayed home, nursed my cold and did laundry.

The guys checked out Grapeyard Ridge.  It started raining so they didn't stay out long.

It looks like a neat trail and I hope to hike it soon.

And thus another holiday weekend comes to a close.

November

Even though our Fall was very busy, the fun didn't stop in October.  In spite of cooler weather, we continued our hiking adventures.

November 7, Sutton Ridge Overlook

Since I have become a healthier, lighter version of me, when it comes to hiking, I no longer have to ask "how steep and how far?" I can now climb things that contain the words "ridge" and "overlook"!

Low Gap Trail, where you will find Sutton Ridge, was a beautiful trail covered with leaves.  Sometimes we couldn't see our feet! 

It was a pleasant, (short sleeves) sunny day, perfect hiking weather.  We enjoyed the streams and what little color was still on the trees.

We climbed and finally reached the top and took a rest and snack break at Sutton Ridge Overlook.

Now one thing you should know about the Smoky Mountains - the weather can change in an instant. Without warning the scene can go from this.....

... to this!

We were sitting there enjoying the view and the next thing you know we were in the middle of a rain/wind/leaf storm!  Fortunately, it blew through quickly and we didn't get too wet or chilled.  

(Note: If things had gotten really bad, we had ponchos in the backpack.  Always be prepared for anything!)

We finished our snacks and headed for the car.

November 8, Old Settler's Trail

The weather turned much cooler overnight.  Today would be a long sleeve hiking day. We traveled to the Greenbrier section of the park (near Porter's Creek Trail).  We went in search of old homesteads, but all we found were rock walls.  Perhaps the leaves had covered up other signs of settlements.  Nevertheless, it was a beautiful walk on a crisp day.

November 13, Light The Way 5K

The next weekend was a "Biggy"!  

Last year, I read about a race that runs through The Christmas lights at Dollywood.  I wanted to enter it, but knew that I was in no shape to walk, much less run, 3.1 miles!  But this year I'm 40 pounds lighter and I'm a hiking machine!  I had completed a "Couch to 5K" training program.  I was ready!  I convinced Keith and Jeff that this would be fun and signed us up.  My sister, who also lost a lot of weight this year, decided to come run it with us.  My niece heard about it and decided to run as well.  It snowballed and the next thing I knew, half my family was coming to town!  They stayed at the beautiful Dreammore Resort.

There were 19 of us altogether and we had a blast!  I'm hoping this will become a new family tradition!

By the way, The lights at Dollywood were gorgeous!

November 15, Gatlinburg Trail

In case we didn't get enough exercise that weekend, we hiked our old 4.2 mile standby, the Gatlinburg Trail.  No matter how many times we hike it, we always enjoy the scenery along the way. We've never seen any bears on this trail, but there are some other "animals" there.

The elephant ...

... the rhino

... and the reindeer!

October's Splendor

We have a saying: "A bad day in the mountains is better than a good day anywhere else."  That is especially true in October.  Autumn is the busiest time of year on the trails because of the magnificent colors.  Jeff likes to take vacation days so we can get in as much hiking as possible.  Jeff is our "trail planner". He studies his "little brown book" in search of new spots we haven't seen.  He always comes up with some interesting places. Take a look!

October 4, Jake's Creek Cascades

Jake's Creek Trail is in the Elkmont area of the park. Elkmont is the home place of one of our favorite trails (Little River Trail), the synchronous fireflies, the Elkmont Campgrounds, and the "ghost town" of Elkmont.  (Again, it needs its own blog!) Jake's Creek Trail is a pleasant stroll through the woods along the creek. The leaves were just beginning to fall and the air was crisp.  Long sleeve hiking has arrived!  We walked as far as the bridge before turning back.

October 5, Mingus Mill Trail

The Mingus Mill Trail is close to the Oconaluftee Visitor's Center near Cherokee, NC.  We headed over to see the mill and also to, hopefully, catch a glimpse of some elk.  There are still a lot of working mills in the Smokies and Mingus is one of my favorites.  You can watch the grinding process and buy fresh cornmeal.  I'm always astounded by the amount of work that must have gone into building such a structure.

We headed up the trail and came across something I never expected to see in the Smokies - a firing range!  It's used for ranger training.  Who knew? 

We walked and climbed and finally we came to an old cemetery. It was a cemetery full of markers without names. It was very sad to walk through and see all of those nameless pieces of slate, on the back side of nowhere, as if the lives of those resting there didn't matter.  Well, they did matter. I said a silent prayer before we headed back. 

We stopped for a snack at the firing range before heading home.

We got back on the road but pretty soon we encountered standstill traffic.  Your first impression would  be "wreck", but in the Smokies standstill traffic means "animal sighting"!  In this case, it was an elk.  There in the field beside the Visitor's Center we saw this beautiful creature, grazing as if he didn't have a care in the world!  It was breathtaking!

October 9, Porter's Creek Trail

Jeff and I took a short mother/son hike at Porter's Creek.  We hiked just as far as that crazy bridge that I hate crossing!  It was starting to rain so we turned around.  On the way back we saw a large group of babies, kids and grown ups. It was a "family reunion" outing.  I wondered how many of them crossed that bridge?

October 11, Little Greenbrier Trail

Very few people hike the Little Greenbrier Trail.  After all, it's just a short little trail that connects to the more popular trails (Little Greenbrier School, Walker Sister's Cabin) at Metcalf Bottoms.  But Jeff did his homework and knew there was something special to see on this trail.  

We started our walk and really enjoyed the color.

We found ourselves climbing and wishing that we could see what was just beyond that tree line.

Then we found this tiny footpath that goes off the main trail and leads to this big deck!  Now technically, this deck is not in the park.  Somebody (bodies) made a path from the valley below that connects to our trail! We walked down the path a little ways and came to a bench.

The view was amazing!  We could see the hustle and bustle of people and traffic in Wears Valley from our perch on the side of the hill. It was such a quiet, peaceful place to be.  But most people would hurry on down that path and miss that experience unless they did their homework!

Afterwards we had our traditional picnic at Metcalf Bottoms.

October 16-17 Little River Trail, Grotto Falls

It has become a family tradition for my sister to come visit in October. Usually, we spend our weekend shopping the outlets and the Craft Loop, but this year, Wanda said: "I think we'd like to hike a trail!"  So off we went to the Little River Trail.  They loved it!  I thought we would only do a mile or so, but we did our usual 2.1 miles to the cascades at the bridge.  We walked around the Elkmont cabins, and we even ventured off trail a little and found the Troll Bridge. 

Afterwards we headed to Old Dad's for soup and sandwiches. Wayne said it was the best sandwich he ever had!  The next day they asked, "Can we hike again?"  So, I decided they were ready for a little more of a challenge.  We headed to Grotto Falls. The trail is shorter, but there are rocks and roots to contend with.  Again, they loved it.  They took lots of pictures and talked to lots of people on the trail.  We did spend part of our weekend shopping, but I think I have two new hiking converts.

We closed out our weekend with a trip (by air) up to Ober Gatlinburg.

So we logged a lot of miles in October.  (I currently have 203 miles towards my 250 pin.) Soon the weather will be cold and the landscape will be leafless, but no leaves on the trees just means the views will improve and Underarmour really keeps you warm so who knows where we'll go next? So many trails - so little time!